CA ANZ partners with Fishburners to capitalise on disruption in the profession

CA ANZ partners with Fishburners to capitalise on disruption in the profession

Today Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) unveils its plan to align with leading innovation community Fishburners as part of its strategy to strengthen the accounting profession for the future.

“Our Strategic Review, involving more than 100 member workshops, confirmed that the profession is changing rapidly, with much more diversity and disruption than experienced in the past. For the profession to remain at the forefront, it is vital we keep pace,” said Rick Ellis, CEO of CA ANZ.

“Members, particularly in public practice, yearn for connections with new solutions, technologies and insights to be able to shape the services they offer.

“One source of this disruption is within innovation communities – they are evolving business models, creating new markets and driving operating efficiencies.”

“This includes immersions within innovation communities, access to training, toolkits and guides for disruption-readiness, and exposure to practical solutions,” said Ellis.

“CA Catalyst is an opportunity for Chartered Accountants to get on the leading edge of the future of accounting, build personal and organisational capabilities, explore new markets and services, and leverage innovation to provide greater value for themselves, their clients and their communities.”

Fishburners is a well-established not-for-profit in Australia, nurturing high impact, scalable start-ups in a culture of shared ideas and experiences.

“This partnership and professional exchange offers fantastic learning opportunities for both organisations and will generate huge benefits to our startups as they prepare to expand,” said Pandora Shelley, CEO of Fishburners.

“Much of the conversation in the startup world is focused around securing a funding outcome. Yet, understanding when to take on external funding and how to apply that funding efficiently is equally important – with many of our most successful startups boot-strapping for a significant period in the early stages.”

“Fishburners is focused on supporting startups at every stage in their growth journey. Helping them to start out strong, with a firm financial foundation is critical.”

“Many startups, particularly at early stage, don’t have the resources to take on a senior CFO who can provide this kind of advice.”

“Through this partnership, start-ups can have access to accounting and financial expertise, assisting them to make confident and accurate decisions about their growth.”

Fishburners hosts Australia’s largest startup community – with 383 startups and 728 entrepreneurs across the Sydney, Brisbane and Shanghai working hubs. The growth continues, with Fishburners adding between 40 and 50 startups each month across Sydney and Brisbane.

Australia’s biggest funnel for startups, more than 1,800 entrepreneurs and 1,250 startup entities have been part of Fishburners’ operations since opening. High-profile alumni that were ‘born’ at Fishburners include successful startups such as Koala, GoCatch, graphic design marketplace DesignCrowd, Code Camp, Tinybeans, Madpaws, Jayride and Hyper Anna. Koala, Australia’s highest-rated mattress, raised $15m and generated $14m in revenue in its first year.

Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand is a professional body comprised of over 120,000 diverse, talented and financially astute members who utilise their skills every day to make a difference for businesses the world over.

Members are known for their professional integrity, principled judgment, financial discipline and a forward-looking approach to business which contributes to the prosperity of our nations.